Walton Goggins Says VICE PRINCIPALS is Actually a Drama
Walton Goggins plays the flamboyant and hilarious Lee Russell in HBO's Vice Principals, and while he's grateful to be doing something different from his typical typecast role, he still very much thinks his new show is a drama. The actor explained his reasoning to Collider in a recent interview:
It wasn’t surprising to me because I think they’re very dramatic filmmakers. I think Observe and Report is a drama. And I think that Eastbound and Down is a drama that happens to be funny. Vice Principals is a drama about a highly dysfunctional human being with way too much power. So, in some ways, I think Danny was looking for someone that he felt could deliver on the topics of a human personality that they’re looking to explore, and that can also make people laugh. Maybe that’s not me, but I’m having a good time.
It definitely is Goggins, and between him and McBride, I've been laughing at this wonderfully dark show from start to finish. On a side note, I do think I agree that Eastbound and Down is a drama that happens to be funny...which makes it more funny! In balancing its humor and darkness, we've seen some really off the wall stuff in just the first six episodes of this new show, and Goggins says to expect that trend to continue:
The first six episodes are a precursor for the main show.
Considering the radical twists and turns Eastbound and Down took during its run, I'm not the least bit surprised. Of course, with those twists Goggins says there will be changes in the show's tone between funny and dark:
That balance will go toward one extreme more than another, at times, but if you have a good story and you wake up in the morning thinking, “I’m going to be true to this story,” than let that be your guide. I never approach a conversation with anyone, let alone any artful business decision or creative decision that I make, based on goal orientation. I’m never looking at the result, as much as I am looking at what’s happening in front of me.
If you haven't seen it yet, check it out! I had high expectations for this show going in and have loved every episode so far.